VERDICT IN FLORIDA MURDER TRIAL

George Zimmerman found not guilty on all counts.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/13/george-zimmerman-found-not-guilty/2514163/

Thanks LL.

Oh. I hadn't been following every detail, but I thought he would be found guilty of something?

Is it like the Anthony trial, where the prosecution set the bar too high, instead of charging the accused with something which was proveable?

The thing is that Zimmerman was found innocent. He had a broken nose and was blooded as a result of whatever happened in the fight.

On the other side, you have the words and aggressive behavior that he was alleged to have used against Martin at the outset before the fight.

Some things are never clear cut......and no witness saw the whole thing from beginning to end.

Very true, Lily, and I mustn't make the mistake of judging by UK law, as civilians just don't carry guns legally here.

I just hope there isn't more violence over the verdict.

There is an audio tape where he refers to the boy in a very derogatory manner ie that he was a punk and "they always get away with it", and he was told by the Police dispatcher to stop following him. The prosecution's showing was decidedly less than upfront. He got away with it. But there is going to be trouble, it is already hotting up. LL

I also feel that there will be trouble. By two minority groups to boot. It won't be easy.....

Jose Baez again. A very good Defence Lawyer is that one.

From what little I have read he does come across as a trifle obsessive, but I would say that on balance it was self defence.

I do keep leaning that way, Sabot.  

Ah, it was Baez again, was it? I didn't realise that...

I don't know, self-defence, but with excessive force used? Again, maybe the prosecution should have laid a lower charge with a better chance of a conviction, even with a lesser penalty?

Who is Jose Boaz?

Lamplighter wrote:Who is Jose Boaz?

Jose Baez, LL. He won The Casey Anthony Case, and got an acquittal. Rightly so, I think.
The Prosecution grossly over charged the case, and then totally failed to prove anything.
But Baez was very, very good, and didn't miss a trick. He was the one who had the Police Dog Handler on the stand, admitting that Cadaver Dogs react to decomposing body fluids from live people. No one knew that before.

Ah,I thought you were saying he defended Zimmerman. That was Don West and Mark O'Mara. LL

Confused.......

bb1 wrote:Confused.......

I am permanently confused, lassie, so you are in good company. LL   

So am I now. The remark in the article, about Jose Baez is misleading.

Ah yes, Baez was commenting, but it's clumsily worded and could be read as him being involved?

You know, I don't know how this can be presented as a race crime, unless Latino Americans are now prejudiced against Afro-Americans?

Stupid, avoidable and tragic, yes, but playing the race card really isn't on.

http://www.codewit.com/north-america/9268-obama-files-federal-charges-against-george-zimmerman-following-acquittal

This is not over yet folks.....

lily wrote:http://www.codewit.com/north-america/9268-obama-files-federal-charges-against-george-zimmerman-following-acquittal

This is not over yet folks.....

Actually it is the NAACP who are asking the Justice Department to file federal charges, not the Obama Administration filing them. LL

ttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/america-erupts-as-trayvon-martin-killer-george-zimmerman-is-cleared-of-murder-8708250.html

After reading more, I found out that apparently Martin was shot as Zimmerman straddled his body after pushing him to the ground.

I read that too LL but it is also possible that Obama and Eric Holder had a word.

This is from The Hill.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/310843-holder-faces-big-decision-on-zimmerman

I think this may have been the important evidence, which is being overlooked in all the uproar:

The defense highlighted the physical differences between the 17-year-old and the then 28-year-old. That at around 6ft, Trayvon towered over Zimmerman, who was 5ft 8in and considered to be 'soft' and borderline obese at 200lb.

They said Travyon was not a scared young boy who feared for his life, but a strapping young man who pounced on Zimmerman and started beating him.

Possibly one of the best witnesses to take the stand in the whole trial was a forensic pathologist who was an expert in gunshot wounds.

Dr Vincent di Maio told the jury that the way the powder marks were formed around the bullet wound showed the gun would have been two-to-four inches away from the teenager's body when the shot was fired, indicating he was leaning forward at the time.

'The physical evidence is consistent with George Zimmerman's account that Mr Martin was over him,' he said.

He later testified that Zimmerman's head injuries could have been caused by coming into contact with concrete, even if there were no serious injuries to show this.

--------

Given the difference in their ages, and the size of the 'child'....it isn't clear-cut, IMO, and I can see why Zimmerman was found not guilty. Suppose he hadn't had a gun? Would he have been found on the pavement with his skull caved in, just another statistic, while the  'child' went off to serve a life sentence?

Not a nice case, but the right verdict, IMO.

ETA link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2362973/Protests-erupt-coast-coast-George-Zimmerman-goes-FREE-Second-day-demonstrations-planned-night-anger.html

Sheesh, I don't like the sound of this at all. What price an acquittal?

And Obama would do well to keep his nose out of this. He s reported to have said that if he had a son he would have looked like Trayvon. And if that isn't racially prejudiced then I don't know what is.

I hadn't been following it, Sabot, so I read up on it last night and I was horrified to see the hatchet job done on Zimmerman by the media before the full facts were known.

Zimmerman was painted as a white racist; Martin as a 'child' - boo hiss! Then inconvenient truths started emerging, not least Zimmerman not even being white. The 'child' was a hulking youth who already had a petty criminal record, and a mouthful of gold teeth. Whatever the future held for the 'child', it wasn't a worthy career serving the community.

It wasn't Zimmerman who made racist remarks on his cellphone, it was Martin, who referred to him as a 'cracker'.

The forensic reports bore out Zimmerman's version of events, so, end of, as far as I am concerned. They were BOTH at fault in the initial incident.

The judge ruled these couldn't be mentioned in court:

The judge's decision comes days after Zimmerman's lawyers made public the contents of Martin's phone, including pictures of marijuana leaves, a .40-caliber hand gun, and a photo that appears to show Martin smoking pot.

The defense also posted online, texts Martin sent about getting into fights and being kicked out of his house by his mother.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-drug-photos-mentioned-judge/story?id=19271093#.UePGCtLU9xk



Bit different from the politically-correct narrative, isn't it? Bears no resemblance to the white-hoodied angel, does it? I would say the moral is that if you're going to get into hassles with small, fat, Latinos and you find yourself banging their heads off concrete - make sure they're not armed first.

I do want this to come out the right way, thank goodness that Zimmerman was not Caucasian.  

If the upset is what it is right now then........cannot help but think about someone I came to know well who was the victim in the 1992 L.A Riots.

This is not to malign others either. I have some dear friends of both races.

The people who have made it about race should be ashamed of themselves, IMO, Lily.

It was entirely avoidable with a bit of good sense and manners on BOTH sides. It's ended with one man (I refuse to call the hulking Trayvon a child) dead, and another with his life ruined.

Instead of playing the race card, those stirring up yet more violence and destruction would be better spending time contemplating the fact that avoidable actions have unforseen consequences.